Electrical connector for connecting a shielded multiconductor cable to an electrical assembly located inside a chassis

ABSTRACT

An electrical connector for joining a shielded multiconductor cable to an electric assembly located within a metal chassis. The connector includes first and second connector parts which are matable at the metal chassis opening. The matable connector part which is attached to the shielded cable contains covers which secure sheets of conductive material in place on opposite sides of the connector part, so that continuity of shielding protection between the metal chassis and shielded cable is afforded when the connector parts are mated.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an electrical connector for connectinga shielded multiconductor cable to an electrical assembly located insidea chassis.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the technology of building electronic equipment used fortelecommunications and, in particular, for data processing, widespreaduse is made of electrical assemblies of varying degrees of complexitysuch as electrical recorders or electronic circuits operating by pulsesfor example, which are particularly sensitive to the disturbing effectsof electromagnetic radiation generated by other electrical circuitsoutside these assemblies. This is why these electrical assemblies, inorder to be protected against this parasitic radiation, are generallyenclosed in a metal chassis which both mechanically supports andelectrically shields the electrical assembly.

The electrical assemblies enclosed in these chassis consume electricalcurrent and are generally supplied by electrical generators designed todeliver electrical currents whose voltage, intensity, and/or frequencycharacteristics must meet specific conditions in order to allow theseassemblies to operate correctly. Some of these electrical generators,such as those delivering DC voltages of several tens of volts forexample, can be accommodated inside the same chassis as that containingthe consumer assembly supplied by these generators. Other generators onthe other hand, such as those known as "undulators" for example, cannotbe accommodated inside the chassis in which the consumer assembly theysupply is located since these generators often cause relativelysubstantial high-frequency electromagnetic radiation requiring strongshielding which makes them particularly bulky. Moreover, thesegenerators, because of the relatively high electrical voltages--on theorder of a few hundreds of volts--prevailing inside them, requirecareful electrical insulation, and locating them in the chassiscontaining the assembly to be supplied would probably be hazardous forpersons servicing this equipment if, for any reason, these generatorshad defective insulation. Since each of these generators is located in adifferent chassis from the chassis containing the consumer assembly tobe supplied, it is necessary, to ensure the electrical connectionbetween a generator and this assembly, to use a shielded multiconductorcable whose conducting wires establish the essential links between theelectrical circuits of the generator and those of the consumer assembly,whose shielding sheath is connected to the two chassis containing thisgenerator and this consumer assembly.

To allow this shielded multiconductor cable to be easily disconnectedfrom one or the other of these two chassis, in order, in particular, toreplace a faulty generator or consumer assembly by another generator oranother consumer assembly, in the prior art, shielded connectors of thetype described and shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,904,265 have been used, thisconnector being composed of two connector parts, the first of which,integral with a chassis, has an insulating body provided with socketsinto which are inserted contact elements of a first type (female forexample), these contact elements being connected to the circuits of agenerator assembly or the consumer assembly contained in this chassis,and the second of which [connector part], attached to one end of themulticonductor cable, has an insulating body provided with sockets intowhich are inserted contact elements of a second type (male for example)designed to be placed in contact with the contact elements of the firsttype when these two connector parts are coupled together, these contactelements of the second type being connected to the conducting wires ofthe multiconductor cable. The insulating body of the first connectorpart is provided with a first shielding element made of a conductingmaterial, the first element being electrically connected to the metalchassis. Likewise, the insulating body of the second connector part isprovided with a second shielding element which, also made of aconducting material, is electrically connected to the shielding sheathof the cable.

These two shielding elements are shaped so that they match each otherwhen the two connector parts are coupled, ensuring continuous shieldingbetween the multiconductor cable and the metal chassis.

In an electrical connector of this type, it is necessary for the variouscomponent parts of the connector to be machined and matched with verygreat precision so that, when the two connector parts are coupled, thecontact elements, which are relatively small, can be placed in contactwith each other under a specific mechanical pressure, and so that theshielding elements can fit into each other with as little play aspossible. As a result, not only is the manufacturing of such aconnector, which requires perfect positioning of the various componentparts with respect to each other, particularly time-consuming andexpensive, but the repeated connection and disconnection operations ofthe two connector parts, which require relatively large mechanicalforces because the two shielding elements are fitted together,eventually cause misalignment of the contact elements, which of courseis likely to cause deterioration of these contact elements, leading torapid failure of the connector.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes these disadvantages and proposes anelectrical connector designed to allow the connection of a shieldedmulticonductor cable to an electrical assembly (power generator orconsumer) enclosed in a metal chassis, which ensures continuousshielding between this cable and this chassis without thereby requiringexpensive shielding elements and requiring relatively large mechanicalforces when the two connector parts are coupled and uncoupled.

More specifically, the present invention relates to an electricalconnector for allowing a multiconductor cable provided with a shieldingsheath to be connected electrically to an electrical assembly locatedinside a metal chassis, this connector including a first connector partthat includes an insulating body provided with contact elements of afirst type electrically connectable to said electrical assembly, thisbody being adapted to be made integral with said chassis, and disposedwithin an opening made in a housing panel of this chassis; and a secondconnector part including an insulating body having a coupling faceadapted to be brought at least into the vicinity of the insulating bodyof said first part when these two parts are coupled together, the bodyof the second part also having faces adjacent to said coupling face, thelatter insulating body being provided with sockets into which areinserted contact elements of a second type designed to be connected tothe contact elements of said first connector part when these two partsare coupled together, these contact elements of the second type beingelectrically connected to the conductors of said shielded cable, saidconnector being characterized by the insulating body of said secondconnector part being provided, on at least one of said adjacent faces,with a sheet of conducting material connected to the shielding sheath ofsaid shielded cable, said sheet having a flexible part extendingessentially toward said first connector part when the latter is coupledto said second connector part, this flexible part having a length suchthat, when these two connector parts are coupled together, it is able tobe in elastic contact with said housing panel and thus ensure shieldingcontinuity to protect the electrical circuits against the effects ofexternal electromagnetic radiation.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The present invention will be better understood and other goals,details, and advantages thereof will emerge from the followingdescription, provided as a nonlimiting example with reference to theattached drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an electrical connector accordingto the invention for connecting a shielded multiconductor cable to anelectrical assembly enclosed in a chassis, this connector being equippedwith shielding parts designed according to a first embodiment,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, with exploded parts, showing thecomposition of the connector part which, in FIG. 1, is attached to oneend of a shielded multiconductor cable,

FIG. 3 is a cross section in a plane along line 3.3 in FIG. 1, showingthe positions occupied by the various connector parts when the two partsof this connector are uncoupled,

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view in a plane along line 3.3 in FIG. 1,showing the positions occupied by the various connector parts when thetwo parts of this connector are coupled,

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another connector according to theinvention but more specifically adapted to the case where the shieldedmulticonductor cable has a circular cross section,

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a connector whose shielding partsare designed according to a second embodiment,

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a connector whose shielding partsare designed according to a third embodiment, and

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a connector whose shielding partsare designed according to a fourth embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The connector shown in FIG. 1 has two connector parts 10 and 11 whichcan be coupled to each in a manner indicated below. Connector part 10has a parallelepipedic insulating body 12 whose width e is relativelysmall by comparison to its length L and height h. This is why, in theexample described, this height h is essentially equal to five times thevalue of width e. This body 12 is made of an insulating material withhigh mechanical strength and excellent electrical insulation for thecontact elements, such as for example the acetal resin sold commerciallyunder the name "Delrin" (registered trademark) or the polycarbonate soldcommercially under the name "Makrolon" (registered trademark).Insulating body 12 is provided with cylindrical sockets 13 which passthrough the thickness of this body and which end at the two parallelfaces 14 and 15 of this body that have the values e and h indicatedabove for their dimensions. In FIG. 1, only face 14, which constitutesthe coupling face of connector part 10 is visible, while face 15, whichis located to the rear of part 10, as can be understood by referring toFIG. 3, is not visible.

Into each of sockets 13 of insulating body 12 is inserted a contactelement of the type designated by reference 16 in FIG. 3. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 3, each of the contact elements inserted in thesesockets 13 is of the female type and has a hollow part 30. As can beseen from FIGS. 3 and 4, each contact element 16 is connected at its endat face 15 to a sheathed conducting wire 17 which provides theelectrical link between this contact element and an electrical assembly18. It will be considered that this electrical assembly is normallyenclosed inside a metal chassis shown in part in FIG. 1, which chassis,marked 19, serves both as a mechanical support and as electricalshielding for this assembly.

Chassis 19, parallelepipedic in shape, has housing panels which delimitthe space inside this chassis. One, 20, of the four vertical housingpanels of this chassis has a rectangular opening 21 opposite which isdisposed connector part 10, which connector part is located insidechassis 19 and is made integral with this chassis by means of fasteningmeans of a known type (not shown). The position of connector part 10 issuch that its coupling face 14 is flush with or extends slightly beyondthe plane of housing panel 20, which allows the connector part 11, whichis outside chassis 19, to be connected to connector part 10, in a mannerexplained below.

As can be seen from FIG. 2, connector part 11, which is shown explodedin this figure, has a parallelepipedic insulating body 22 which hasessentially the same width e and the same height h as those ofinsulating body 12 of connector part 10, which insulating body 22 thushas two faces each of which has dimensions e and h. Only one, 27, ofthese two faces can be seen in FIG. 2. The other face, designated 23 inFIG. 3, is the coupling face of connector part 11, said coupling face 23being adapted to come in contact with, or least into the immediatevicinity of, coupling face 14 of connector part 10 when these two parts10 and 11 are coupled together. FIG. 2 shows that insulating body 22 hasfour faces 40, 41, 42, and 43 which are adjacent to coupling face 23,two of which, 42 and 43, are oriented vertically in the figure, each ofthese two faces having the dimensions h and M, M being the length ofinsulating body 22. In the position illustrated in FIG. 2, faces 40 and41 are the upper face and lower face respectively of insulating body 22.This insulating body 22 is made of an insulating material similar tothat constituting insulating body 12 of connector part 10. FIGS. 2 and 3show that insulating body 22 is provided, on its coupling face 23, withhollow insulating pins 24, in a number equal to the number of sockets 13in insulating body 12, each of these hollow pins being adapted to fitinto one of the sockets 13 when parts 10 and 11 are coupled. Each ofthese pins 24 is provided with a cylindrical cavity 25 into which, whenthe pin is inserted into a socket 13, contact element 16 located in thissocket fits. Each cylindrical cavity 25 communicates with a socket 26which, starting at coupling face 23, passes through the thickness ofinsulating body 22 and exits at face 27 of this body which is oppositecoupling face 23.

This socket 26 receives a contact element 28 ending in a rod 29 which,extending along the axis of cylindrical cavity 25, is inserted intohollow part 30 of contact element 16 when the two connector parts 10 and11 are coupled. Each contact element 28 is connected, by its end at face27, to each of conducting wires 31 of a shielded multiconductor cable 32(FIG. 1), these conducting wires being located inside a shielding sheath33 made of an electrically conducting material, this sheath being itselfenclosed in an envelope 34 made of insulating material. The connectorpart 11 shown in FIG. 2 also has two insulating covers 35 and 36 thatare removable and can be fastened to each other by screw 37. These twocovers 35 and 36, each provided with a curved leg 38 insertable into astirrup 39 formed by molding onto insulating body 22, are intended toprotect the end part of shielded multiconductor cable 32 on whichconnector part 11 has been attached, ensuring, as can be seen from FIG.3, reinforcement of the mechanical rigidity of this end portion, whichreduces the likelihood of cable 32 separating from connector part 11when this part is repeatedly coupled to and uncoupled from connectorpart 10. In addition, these two covers, which are located on either sideof this end portion of cable 32, as can be seen in FIG. 3, when they areconnected together, prevent the bare end of shielding sheath 33 of thiscable from being deformed when this cable is handled, thus causingundesired contact of conducting wires 31 with each other through thissheath 33.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show how, in an operation coupling the two connector parts10 and 11, each of hollow pins 24 of part 11 is inserted into the freespace of each of sockets 13 of part 10, i.e. in the part of the socketnot occupied by contact element 16 which is in this socket, whilesimultaneously each of rods 29 penetrates into its respective hollowpart 30 of contact elements 16. In order to reduce the force necessaryfor this operation, while ensuring a good electrical contact betweeneach of these rods 29 and each of these contact elements 16, sockets 13,hollow pins 24, and contact elements 16 are dimensioned such as to allowa small amount of play between each socket and each hollow pin insertedinto this socket and between each hollow pin and each contact element 16inserted into this hollow pin. On the contrary, hollow parts 30 and rods29 are made such that introduction of a rod 29 into a hollow part 30 isaccomplished with slight friction of the surfaces of these parts, placedinto contact. It can be seen from a comparison of FIGS. 3 and 4 that, atthe end of the coupling operation of the two connector parts 10 and 11,coupling faces 14 and 23 of these two parts are in the immediatevicinity of each other. In order to prevent undesired uncoupling of thetwo connector parts 10 and 11, for example under the action of thevibrations engendered, during operation, by device 18 enclosed inchassis 19, these two parts are provided with a locking device which, inthe example described, is composed of a hooking leg 45 (FIG. 1) made ofa material similar to that of which insulating body 22 is composed,which is flexibly attached to upper face 40 of this body 22, this leg 45being provided with an opening 46 in which, when the two connector parts10 and 11 are coupled to each other, a lug 47 formed by molding on theupper face of connector part 10 engages. Leg 45 is integral with anactivating tongue 48 which, when the two connector parts 10 and 11 arecoupled to each other, allows the operator to lift leg 45 to remove lug47 from opening 46 thus releasing connector part 11 so that the lattercan then be uncoupled from part 10. Another locking device, similar tothat just described, is also provided on lower face 41 of connector part11.

FIGS. 1 and 2 also show that side face 42 of insulating body 22 of thesecond connector part is covered with a sheet 50, made of anelectrically conducting material, which is provided with a hole 51 intowhich, when cover 35 is removed, stirrup 39 which projects from thisface 42 can be engaged. Hole 51 is dimensioned such that engagement ofstirrup 39 into this hole is accomplished with very slight play so thatsheet 50 cannot move on face 42 to which it has been applied. Moreover,this sheet 50 is sufficiently thin so that, once it has been applied toface 42, it does not impede introduction of curved leg 38 of cover 35into stirrup 39 of this face, the purpose of which introduction is toensure attachment of cover 35 to insulating body 22, which also has theeffect of preventing loosening of sheet 50 from this stirrup. Sheet 50,which has thus been positioned on side face 42, has a free part 52which, starting from face 27 of insulating body 22, extends beyond thisbody, i.e. to the right of body 22 shown in FIG. 3, in order to take itsplace in the inner space between the two insulating covers 35 and 36,against the inside face of cover 35. This free part 52 is electricallyconnected to shielding sheath 33 of cable 32, with this connectingoperation (by soldering) being carried out after sheet 50 has beenengaged, by its hole 51, onto stirrup 39 on face 42, or on the contrary,before this sheet has become engaged by this hole. Sheet 50, which hasbeen engaged by this stirrup, also has a flexible part 53 which, as seenin FIG. 3, extends along insulating body 22, to the left thereof, i.e.essentially in the direction of first connector part 10, when secondconnector part 11 is positioned ready for coupling to this firstconnector part. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, this flexible part 53has, in the vicinity of its end 54, and end portion 55 which has beenslightly folded in a direction that has the effect of distancing thisend 54 from plane P of side face 42, this end portion 55 forming withthis plane P an angle B of less than ninety degrees. In a moreparticularly advantageous embodiment, this angle B is approximatelyforty-five degrees. Moreover, as can be understood by referring to FIGS.3 and 4, flexible part 53 has a length such that, when connector part 11is displaced to be coupled to connector part 10, the end portion 55 ofthis flexible part comes in contact with housing panel 20 just beforethe coupling operation of the two connector parts is complete. Duringthis movement, as coupling faces 14 and 23 of the two connector partsapproach each other, this end portion 55 is constrained, aftercontacting housing panel 20, to slide on the outer face of this plate ina direction tending to distance if from opening 21, which has the effectof causing flexible part 53 to bend, as shown in FIG. 4. As a result, atthe end of the coupling operation, end 54 of flexible part 53 is appliedto housing panel 20 with a force whose intensity is in proportion to thedegree of bending of this flexible part 53. Calling a the length, b thewidth, and e the thickness of this flexible part 53, it has been foundthat when this flexible part undergoes flexion such that its end 54 ismoved by a distance f with respect to its original position, the force Gwith which this end is applied to housing panel 20 is representedessentially by the expression: ##EQU1## where E is the elasticitymodulus of the material of sheet 50 and A is the angle (shown in FIG. 4)between side face 42 and tangent plane Q to portion 56 of flexible part53 which is contiguous with end portion 55 of this flexible part. In theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, this angle A is about twenty degreesso that the value of sine A is practically 0.4. The force G with whichthe flexible part of sheet 50 is applied to housing panel 20 should havea sufficient value to ensure good contact between this sheet 50 and thispanel 20. However, this force should not exceed a certain limiting valueabove which the operation of coupling the two connector parts 10 and 11would be difficult for the operator. To meet these conditions, the valueof this force G, expressed in newtons, is preferably between 0.02b and0.12b, where b is the length in millimeters of end 54 of this sheet.Thus, in the example described, this sheet 50 is made of steel and thushas an elasticity modulus of practically 25,000 daN/mm². Moreover, thethickness of this sheet is practically equal to 0.1 mm and its width b(FIG. 2) is practically equal to 45 mm, while flexible part 53 of thissheet is practically equal to 16 mm in length. It should also be pointedout that, in the example illustrated by FIG. 4, the travel f of end 54of flexible part 53 is essentially equal to 4.5 mm. This being the case,the force with which this end is applied to housing panel 20 has thevalue of: ##EQU2## i.e. practically: G=1.5 newton.

It may be observed that, with a force of this value, the contact betweensheet 50 and housing panel 20 is secured, particularly as the frictionexerted by end 54 of this sheet, upon the coupling and uncouplingoperations of the two connector parts 10 and 11, has the effect ofcleaning the zone of this plate 20 which is subjected to this frictionby removing from it any traces of insulating material that may form inthis zone, which traces may be, for example, traces of oxides. Thus,sheet 50 provides excellent continuity between shielding sheath 33 ofcable 32 and housing panel 20 which participates in the shielding ofmetal chassis 19. Moreover, as can be seen in FIG. 1, the end portion ofsheet 50 can be provided with cuts 57 made at regular intervals andoriented in a direction perpendicular to the end of this end portion,allowing better distribution of the contact force along this end.

Conducting sheet 50 can of course be made of a conducting material otherthan steel, capable of undergoing small elastic deformations andresuming its initial shape when the bending force has disappeared. Thus,for example, this sheet can be made of a beryllium copper alloy. In thiscase, the thickness of this sheet is practically equal to 0.2 mm.

In order to improve the continuity of shielding between shielding sheath33 of cable 32 and housing panel 20 even further, the side face 43 ofinsulating body 22 is also provided, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, witha sheet of conducting material 60, which sheet is analogous to sheet 50and is mounted in a manner similar to that of the latter sheet.

It should be pointed out that, when the two connector parts 10 and 11are coupled, connector part 11 tends to move away from housing panel 20under the action of the forces exerted on the end portions of sheets 50and 60. However, since the two connector parts are fastened together byat least one of the locking devices described above, there is no riskthat these two parts will uncouple as long as the locking devices havenot been unlocked by the operator.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper face 40 and lowerface 41 of insulating body 22 each have a width e which is relativelysmall, this width being approximately five millimeters in the exampledescribed. The surface areas of each of these two faces are relativelysmall so that it is not necessary to provide these faces with sheets ofconducting material: sheets 50 and 60 are in fact sufficient to ensurecontinuous shielding of the electrical circuits against the effects ofexternal electromagnetic radiation. On the contrary, in the otherembodiments, such as that illustrated in FIG. 5 for example, insulatingbody 22 can have a shape in which the four faces 40, 41, 42, and 43,which are adjacent to the coupling face of this body, each havenonnegligible dimensions, i.e. at least equal to fifteen millimeters forexample. In this case, to obtain effective protection against thedisturbing effects of external electromagnetic radiation, it isnecessary to provide each of these four faces with a sheet of conductingmaterial, whereby some of these sheets, such as that designated 80 inFIG. 5, can be cut out in such a way as to leave uncovered the lockingdevices with which the faces on which these sheets are disposed areprovided. The electrical connector shown in FIG. 5 is designed inparticular to ensure the connection of a shielded multiconductor cablewith a circular cross section.

It must also be pointed out that the end portions 55 of each of thesheets of conducting material can have shapes different from that shownin FIGS. 1 to 5. Thus, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, sheet 50mounted on face 42 of connector part 11 has, in the vicinity of its end54, an end portion 55 which is bent such that its cross section ispractically in the shape of a U, this U having two legs 70 and 71pointing essentially in a direction parallel to the plane of face 42,these two legs being connected by a base 72 which, when the twoconnector parts 10 and 11 are coupled, comes in contact with housingpanel 20.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, end portion 55 of sheet 50 hasa cross section also in the shape of a U, but with the difference thatthe two legs 70 and 71 of this U point essentially in a directionperpendicular to the plane of face 42. FIG. 7 shows that leg 70, whichis the furthest from end 54 of sheet 50, is in fact bent at practicallyninety degrees to the rest of this sheet, and that leg 71, which isparallel to this leg 70, comes in contact with the outer face of housingpanel 20 when the two connector parts 10 and 11 are coupled.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8, the end portion 55 of sheet 50has a cross section essentially in the shape of a V, this V having twolegs 70 and 71 which form an angle C between them, whose value isbetween 60° and 75°. In addition, leg 71 which is the closest to end 54of this sheet 50, forms with housing panel 20, when the two connectorparts 10 and 11 are coupled, an angle D whose value is between 15° and25°.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described andillustrated, which are provided only as examples. On the contrary, itcomprises all means constituting technical equivalents to thosedescribed and illustrated, considered separately or in isolation, andimplemented in the claims which follow.

I claim:
 1. An electrical connector for connecting a multiconductorcable having shielding to a termination at an opening of a metalchassis, comprising:a first connector part disposed at least partiallywithin said opening of said metal chassis, said first connector parthaving a first plurality of electrical contact elements; and a secondconnector part operative to mate with said first connector part throughsaid opening in said metal chassis, said second connector partcomprising:a second connector part insulating body having a secondplurality of electrical contact elements operative to mate with saidfirst plurality of electrical contact elements, at least one pair ofsheets of conductive material disposed on opposite sides of said secondconnector part insulating body, each sheet being generally coextensivewith said second connector part insulating body and each sheet beingsufficiently sized to contact said metal chassis when said sheet isdisposed on said members and said second connector part is mated withsaid first connector part, at least one retaining member for retainingsaid at least one pair of sheets of conductive material in a fixedposition on said opposite sides of said second connector part insulatingbody; and a pair of covers operative to retain said sheets in said fixedposition on said at least one retaining member and in electrical contactwith said shielding of said multiconductor cable whereby a shielding iseffected between said metal chassis and said multiconductor cable. 2.The electrical connector of claim 1 wherein said sheets of conductivematerial are angled obliquely with respect to the plane along which saidsheets are disposed against said second connector part.
 3. Theelectrical connector of claim 2 wherein said sheets of conductivematerial further contain ends which are obliquely angled outward.
 4. Theelectrical connector of claim 2 wherein said sheets of conductivematerial are flexible.
 5. The electrical connector of claim 1 whereinsaid sheets of conductive material have U-shaped sections disposed forcontact against said metal chassis when said connector parts arecoupled.
 6. The electrical connector of claim 1 wherein said sheets ofconducting material have U-shaped sections which exert a force againstsaid metal chassis sufficient to ensure contact between the metalchassis and said sheets of conductive material.
 7. The electricalconnector of claim 1 wherein said sheets of conductive material have aV-shaped portion for disposition against said metal chassis.
 8. Theelectrical connector of claim 1 wherein said sheets of conductivematerial exert a contact force against said metal chassis when saidfirst and second connector parts are coupled.
 9. The electricalconnector of claim 1 wherein said sheets of conductive material compriseberyllium copper.
 10. The electrical connector of claim 1 wherein saidinsulating body of said first connector part is mounted flush with atleast one metal chassis opening integral with said metal chassiscontaining an electrical assembly.
 11. The electrical connector of claim1 wherein said at least one retaining member comprises at least one pairof outwardly projecting members located on opposite sides of said secondconnector part insulating body.
 12. The electrical connector of claim 11wherein said at least one pair of sheets of conductive material eachcomprise an opening conformed for a respective one of said at least onepair of outwardly projecting members to pass therethrough.
 13. Theelectrical connector of claim 1 wherein said pair of covers are disposedon opposite sides of said second connector part and removably connectedto each other by at least one screw.
 14. The electrical connector ofclaim 1 wherein said first and second connector parts are square-shapedand said second connector part has a sheet of conductive materialdisposed against each of four sides.
 15. The electrical connector ofclaim 11 wherein said outwardly projecting members are shaped as loops.16. The electrical connector of claim 11 wherein said outwardlyprojecting members are shaped as stirrups and said pair of coverscontain a member operative to engage said stirrups to retain said coversand said sheet in place.
 17. The electrical connector of claim 1 furthercomprising locking means including a hooking leg flexibly attached to anupper face of said second connector part insulating body and disposed tocooperate with a leg disposed on an upper face of said first connectorpart.